DDC High School and College Summer Interns End Season of Learning with Closing Ceremony

Long Island City, NY – Acting Commissioner Ana Barrio of the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) presided today over the agency’s summer internship closing ceremony as over 60 high school, college and graduate student interns brought their internships to an end.

For the duration of their six-week internships, 28 high school students were paired with personal mentors from a DDC division such as Administration, Public Buildings, Infrastructure, the Office of the Chief Architect, Legal, IT and Program Management. In addition to the time spent with their mentors, high school interns attended weekly educational workshops on topics including career paths in architecture, engineering, construction, introduction to 3D design and model building, college readiness, resume and cover letter writing, and networking.

DDC Acting Commissioner Ana Barrio joined the 2017 College, Graduate, and High School interns at the closing ceremony on August 11th

High school interns also traveled to DDC construction sites to see first-hand how the business of construction works in New York City. DDC’s high school interns represented all five City boroughs and 25 separate high schools throughout the City.

A combination of 39 undergraduate and graduate summer interns represented 23 universities from across the United States, including Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon, City College of New York, Duke University and Syracuse University. The college interns were also supported by personal mentors across various concentrations within the DDC during their 10-week program.

The group joined high school interns for a field visit at the MCC Theater in Hell’s Kitchen on July 19th and participated in Community Service Day on July 25, 2017 at JHS 22 Jordan L Mott. During this day, they helped teach disadvantaged middle school students about sustainability through vertical gardening, and organized teacher appreciation kits and a basketball tournament.

“The exposure to civic engineering and construction these interns have gained in the past two months is invaluable,” said DDC Acting Commissioner Ana Barrio. “Especially in New York City, an urban landscape that is ever-changing in response to the needs of its people and environment, they’ve seen world class solutions to the challenges the City faces daily. I thank them for doing an excellent job as interns and wish them the best in their future endeavors.”

“We are extremely proud to send our 2017 high school and college interns out into the world. Our students have been working with some of the best built environment professionals in the industry. The jobs of the future will be found in the architecture and engineering sectors,” said DDC Community Partnerships & STEAM Initiatives Deputy Commissioner Lee Llambelis. “It is critically important that we expose our young people to rigor and high expectations of the industry in a professional setting.”

The DDC internship program is organized in partnership with the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development through DDC’s STEAM education initiative, which was created in 2014 to establish a diverse and inclusive pipeline for New York City's youth to engage in science, technology, engineering, art/architecture, and mathematics. The internships were offered to provide valuable hands-on opportunities for a new generation of construction professionals to embark on their journey in the design and construction fields.

“DDC’s 2017 Summer College Internship program was an overwhelming success with 34 of our brightest most eager students who represent the future engineers, architects, and construction managers of our fine city,” said Associate Commissioner of Human Resources Janice Stroughter.

DDC college intern Ingrid Florentino, 23, who graduated with a BS in Environmental Engineering from CCNY in May, said she appreciated gaining professional experience in DDC’s program management division, where she bounced around working in the environmental, topographic and geotechnical units.

“In school there is so much pressure to maintain a high GPA by knowing certain material, but as an intern in the office, you are expected to learn things instead of know things,” said Florentino, a Brooklyn native. “There’s no competition and it allows for a real learning experience. I want to thank everyone from the program management unit and at the DDC for a wonderful experience.”

Staten Island native Philip Cina, a high school intern at DDC, said his time spent with the in-house design team was a valuable glimpse into a potential career path.

“Seeing first-hand modeling, sketching, and designing showed me what kinds of things to expect in the future,” said the 18-year-old Cina, a graduate of Staten Island Technical High School who is headed to the New Jersey Institute of Technology this fall. “It’s important to me to see the full picture involved with any project, and this experience is something I can take with me when I start a career. I want to thank the professionals at DDC.”

About the NYC Department of Design and ConstructionThe Department of Design and Construction is the City’s primary capital construction project manager. In supporting Mayor de Blasio’s lenses of growth, sustainability, resiliency, equity and healthy living, DDC provides communities with new or renovated public buildings such as such as firehouses, libraries, police precincts, new or upgraded roadways, sewers, water mains in all five boroughs. To manage this $15 billion portfolio, DDC partners with other City agencies, architects and consultants, whose experience bring efficient, innovative, and environmentally-conscious design and construction strategies to city projects. For more information, please visit nyc.gov/ddc.